Minecraft - Fractal: First Record
by PWNsbey
Summary: The Nether has begun to merge with the Overworld. The eight-to-one block ratio once so famously exploited by Steve for travel is now compressing our existence and causing massive rifts to open up in our dimension. Only two teens are able to save the two great nations from literally being torn apart. And they are destined to fail. Rated T for violence. No sex or language.
1. First Record

_FIRST RECORD~_

_It has been 250 years since the destruction of Herobrine, and Steve's liberation of the Northern Prisons. Our people have proved their ability to recover and rebuild, and have built two of the greatest civilizations in recorded history._

_The Crafters. Originally a large group of engineers fascinated with Steve's discovery of redstone, the group created more and more complex and automated machinery, promising an easy and productive way of life. The Crafters now run a technological empire powered by the near-infinite energy of redstone._

_The Miners. Our culture began as a somewhat fanatical religious sect, hailing Steve as a prophet and bringer of a new age - of magic. The Miner children spend the first twenty years of their lives deep within the mines, extracting raw ores from the earth. The latter half of their lifetimes are spent devoted to the arts of enchanting, casting, and also prayer._

_The two societies are all but unknown to each other, having established themselves thousands of chunks apart. _

_But new gateways have opened. The fabric of our world is being torn apart. I'm transcribing these records in the hopes that we may preserve our knowledge for whatever generations are alive to read it. My companion is doing the same from a Crafter's perspective, with digital mediums, I believe._

_To whomever the reader may be, I beg you;_

_ Do not repeat our failures._

Her pick struck the stone, and a hail of sparks cascaded off some exposed iron ore. The leather-clad girl stooped down in the darkness to squint at the iron. After a moment, she nodded to herself and picked up the pick again.

_Good haul today._

As those words came to her mind, her shoulders stiffened, and she stared angrily at the three words represented how simplistic life was in the mines, how easy it was to sum up everything that she lived and breathed for. Everything that the Council wanted to hear from their courageous young miners. Everything that life had in store for her.

Good haul today.

She finished extracting the ore, stowed it inside her pack, and stood up. Her pack was one of the more interesting aspects of her job, she grudgingly admitted to herself. Each miner's pack had a different color and insignia to designate which mining camp the miner belonged to - hers was a faded red with the silhouette of a burning torch sewn on. Its internal space was linked to a storage room at the Citadel, and could extra-dimensionally hold six or seven times its normal volume, with very little weight gain.

Essentially, it was bigger on the inside.

As she walked, she became aware of some low light ahead of her, and heard voices speaking softly. "See, it's fine. Just give more four more ingots and we can send the iron up top."

She came around a bend in the tunnel, and walked into her assigned mining camp. There were multiple furnaces and crafting benches set up in the center of the little cave, with beds lining the edges - several people were already fast asleep. There was even an arcane altar set up as of last week, so that the more advanced miners among them could create small-level magic enchantments on their tools. There were two older boys standing at the crafting tables, working on their next surface delivery. As the girl came into the meager light, they looked up. "Hey Tierras."

"Hey." She intentionally avoided making eye contact. It wouldn't do to give away anything that she might be thinking.

She walked over to the furnaces and began feeding in her iron ore, placing it the rocks carefully so as to avoid waking up the others.

Three years. Three more blasted years in the ore mines before the Council would allow her to attend the Mage's College. It was a thankless, and often dangerous job. The dreaded 'Mobs' - undead creatures that roamed in the darkness - sometimes still managed to sneak up on unsuspecting mining camps and slaughter them in their entirety, despite frequent patrols made by the warlocks. More than one child had been kept awake, terrified all night by stories of cave spiders, zombies, and creepers.

Tierras shoved in the last hunk of ore with far more force than was necessary, and stood up. One of the boys was currently re-melting a small armful of iron ingots. The other was looking at her with a worried expression.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"You're glaring at the furnaces. Are you alright?"

Tierras made a conscious effort to straighten out her face into something more neutral. "I'm fine. Just really tired."

"I'll finish melting down your ores, if you like. You should get some sleep."

Tierras looked at him. Why was he making an offer like that? Sleep was a valued commodity in their lives, second perhaps only to food. Depending on how much ore each miner had retrieved that day, they would be rationed out a corresponding amount of both.

"Are you trying to take my ores or something?"

He looked taken aback. "What? No! You just said you were tired!"

She glared at him for a moment before wandering over to her bed and collapsing on the thin mattress. She knew this boy. He was the type to share his tidbits with the younger miners during mealtimes.

In other words, he was a complete fool, easy to take advantage of. The intelligent people were the ones who learned that it was every miner for themselves.

Too often she had been backstabbed by other miners. Even as a child, she was sometimes beaten by older children and left in a dark mine shaft, having been robbed of an entire day's worth of ores. As she grew older, she found that she could do the same to others. And it was easy. People were so trusting, so eager to accept any help that might lighten their load.

She lay there, in the semi-darkness, turning over plans within her mind. Plans that couldn't possibly be understood by any of the people they involved. Tierras had discovered that she had a talent for deception, for out-maneuvering a target. Even since a child, she knew. She knew she was brilliant.

Her fists clenched tightly as she lay, and tears of desperation and fury leaked from her eyes. Why? Why was she forced to live a life like this? This was miserable, and a complete waste of her intelligence.

She lay there, shaking until her form stilled, and her breaths came evenly She had managed to fall asleep.

And the two boys silently continued their metalwork late into the night.

A magical jolt of energy ran through Tierras' body, waking her up for her next mining tour. She groaned and sat forward in the bed. Sweat covered her body, but this was not unusual. It was sweltering this far below ground, and there were few ways to keep cool. The leather clothing she wore was enchanted to keep her body temperature from overheating, but it was not precise enough to keep the miner feeling comfortable.

She picked up a bag of smelted ingots that the boy from last night had left by her bed, and dragged herself through convoluted tunnels until she reached the mess hall. The mess hall (or rather, cavern,) had a large scale at one end. Her ingots were weighed, and her food was given her. She sat down alone, and ate the bland meal as rapidly as possible. An older girl was sharing some of her food with a friend over there. _Moron. Nobody helps anyone but themselves down here._

After the meal she trudged off with several other miners down miles and miles of man-made tunnels. One of the miners was chatting animatedly to the others, and Tierras gritted her teeth in annoyance. This girl was apparently on her final day in the mines - she would be leaving for the surface - and the mage's college - this evening. And she refused to stop talking about it.

The small group of miners reached their destination - a large natural cavern littered with ores. She detached herself from the group and began swinging her pick at a coal deposit, jaw clenched. She had a long shift ahead of her.

Fresh sweat covered Tierras' body as she trudged back into the center of the cavern. There was a minecart there, and the miners were occasionally dumping their ores into it. She heaved her pack off her back and upended it over the minecart. Her stomach growled, and she frowned, massaging her gut with one hand.

"Here."

A hand was holding out a grimy apple towards her.

She looked up to see that the same girl that was leaving today offering Tierras the fruit.

"What?" Tierras asked, curtly.

"Take it. It's my last day, I won't need it." She was smiling.

Tierras snatched the apple and turned away. The girl spoke again.

"What's your name?"

Tierras turned back around slightly. "Tierras."

The girl smiled again. "That's a nice name. I- "

An arrow whistled out of the darkness and struck the girl mid-sentence, burying itself in her sternum. There was a shout from one of the other miners, and Tierras dove behind the minecart. The girl collapsed to the ground beside her, spluttering.

"Skeleton archers! Mobs!" Someone shouted.

Tierras glanced around the room frantically.

_Mobs? Here? They said the caverns were already cleared!_

More shouting. One of the miners was sprinting towards her.

_No! Go away! Don't bring them over here!_

She didn't have to worry about that, however. She felt the minecart rock behind her, and a cave spider leapt over her and collided with the running miner. Smaller than the usual spiders that the combat patrols had to fight, this kind was vicious, and highly venomous. The miner crashed to the ground, screaming, and she watched in horror as the spider's head suddenly jabbed downward into his chest, sinking its mandibles into him.

The minecart began to tilt forward on top of her, and Tierras scrambled away on her hands and knees. She spun around on her back just in time to see a zombie push over the cart, spilling ores onto the cave floor. The undead were common in dark caves, but normally they were exterminated before any mining was started!

Her fingers brushed against something hard and metallic, and she looked down to see her hand resting on someone's pickaxe. Without a second to lose she picked it up and stood to face the advancing zombie. When it had staggered within her reach, she swung the it upward into the space under the zombie's chin with all her strength.

There was a wet crunch, and she felt the zombie shudder through the pickaxe handle.

She pulled it out and stumbled away. Everything was moving slowly now, and her everything felt vague and far off. A few arrows whizzed past her, and she heard another scream.

_Right. Skeletons._

She gazed downward at her feet, and saw the spider tearing away at the miner's chest cavity. Somehow the graphic scene didn't make any impact on her - she was too overwhelmed by shock and adrenaline. She just stared and slowly began to backpedal.

Something hit her very hard in the back, knocking the wind out of her, and blinding her with sudden tears of pain. She spun around to see a skeleton notching another arrow to its bow. _He just shot me. That skeleton just shot me! _The skeleton raised its bow and prepared to fire again. Tierras sidestepped just as the mob fired, and the arrow streaked past her form within inches. She dashed forward and swung her pick into the ribcage of the skeleton, breaking some of its ribcage and opening a crack in its spine. The skeleton twisted, pinning her arm between a few of the ribs. A sudden clarity rushed through Tierras' mind. As the skeleton drew back its fist, she planted one leg behind its feet, and leaned into the mob as hard as she could. The skeleton was caught off-balance, and began to fall backward with Tierras on top of it. Tierras raised her free hand as they fell, palming the skeleton's skull, and slammed it into the rock with all of her combined strength and momentum.

They hit the ground. The skull shattered explosively, and her hand went numb. She rose to her feet, hand aching, and rivulets of blood already running down her arm. Her back felt warm and wet. _Oh. That arrow's still probably there._

There was an ear-shattering _BOOM_, and a wave of heat crashed into her. Tierras stumbled backward, looking for the source of the explosion. she saw a crater in the other side of the cavern, and cracks were beginning to run through the walls. An ominous grating sound filled the stale air.

Tierras began to sprint for the chiseled-out exit across the cavern. Bits of rock and dust were already starting to fall around her now. She was nearing the center of the room when she spotted the friendly girl's corpse on the ground, still holding onto her miner's pack. Tierras slid to a halt, seized upon by a sudden idea. If she took the girl's pack, she could get out of the mines early - provided she made it out of this cave. She knelt and frantically tried to pry the pack from the girl's grasp. Her nerves screamed at her. She probably only had seconds left.

_Come on, COME ON!_

The pack came free. She threw her own pack on top of the corpse, and quickly stood up. She could swap identities and be done with the mines forever.

_I get the best ideas in the strangest situations._

Suddenly, a sound from behind her:

"SSsssssssss..."

Creeper.

Run.

Tierras only made the first few steps before a second concussion tore the air apart. A wave of searing pain blasted across her back, and she felt shards of stone pierce her flesh in multiple places. She was hurled forward, and crashed into the hard stone chest-first.

White lights danced around in her vision, and she couldn't breathe. Her back was twisted, causing a pinching pain to radiate from her spine.

She tried to get up, but her limbs wouldn't obey her. She couldn't move. Blood was flowing all around her face as she lay there, cheek pressed into the rock.

And then the ceiling tumbled down on top of her, and everything went dark.

Light.

Noise.

Both of them cut into her head with a vengeance.

Something was lifted off of her. She could tell because now she could suddenly inhale - whatever it was had been crushing her lungs.

Her breath was cut off by a coughing fit, tearing up her already-sore throat.

"... alive! Need a healer - "

Someone was talking. More light came over.

They were speaking again. This time it sounded like they were talking to her.

_I can't tell what they're saying... Ugh... I must not be very lucid..._

There was something she had to remember... something she mustn't forget... What was it?

_The backpack!_

She tried to open her eyes, but the light was too blinding, hurt too much.

"...mostly unconscious. Can't hear us..."

_Yes, I can._

She felt herself sinking back down into sleep again.

_No! Not yet! Have to find... that pack..._

She mentally braced herself to attempt speech.

"My... pack -" Back to a coughing fit.

"She spoke!"

"What?"

Now a woman's voice. "Here it is, dear. I have it."

"My... last day..." _Ha. Still a good liar._

"Quite the last day."

"You're going to be alright, we're going to get you help. You won't have to be down here again."

Tierras smiled a little, and then finally succumbed to the depths of slumber.

**Author's Notes:**

**HEY YOU!**

**Sup.**

**Do me a favor and rate this sucker, mmkay? Please review it, too! I answer every single review I get (provided you have a ffn account... XP)**

**Don't be shy! I don't bite or anythin'. If you have critique for my writing style, or spot a grammatical error, PLEASE lemme know. I'm always trying to get better.**

**This is my second fic ever written, and my first Minecraft one. I love Minecraft, and I've been playing it since the alpha. *adjusts hipster glasses***


	2. Entry01

_-system online_

_-running craftOS 8.2.4_

_-initializing..._

_-Welcome, User._

_-WARNING: OS is loading a video file automatically. Continue? y/n_

_\y_

_-loading video..._

_-playing "doomsday log_entry01"..._

*the display comes to life, showing a young man in his late teens. Subject is grimy and looks exhausted. There are multiple bits of electronic implants showing on his skin surface - strips of metal popping up across major muscle groups and nerve clusters - and a holographic display hovering in front of his right eye, constantly shifting and changing. Subject has white skin, and dark (possibly brown) hair, but any further color analysis is impossible to the naked eye do to the darkness of the video.*

_"Sup. My name's Riven, and I'm making this vid log 'cause it looks like we've only got a couple of days before the world goes boom. Uh, let's see... I'm a Crafter, which means I use technology wherever possible - Uh, if you don't have technology in the future, then it's pretty much just magic proven by science. Um, if you even have magic... Well, if ya don't have either one, just keep playing these videos, and you'll see. I'm recording pretty much everything our civilization has learned, so hopefully it'll help you guys, like, advance your society or whatever. My girlfriend Ti's doing the same thing - _

*Another shape moves over the camera, and the sound of a slap is audible.*

_"Ow!_

_I'm not your girlfriend!"_

*Subject comes back into view grinning.*

_"Well, obviously she's in denial, but - "_

*A voice is heard off-camera, and he flinches. Subject speaks in a whisper.*

_"But seriously, its probably only a matter of time!"_

*At this point, Subject's face loses its slightly wild look, and his jaw sets. He sighs*

_"Of course, that's why I'm making this. We're out of time, and we're out of options. Like I was going to say, Tierras is doing the same thing on paper, just in case the future people reading this don't know how to use computers. _

*Subject sighs again.*

_"Of course, if you don't know how to read, then you're all screwed. Still, I mean, we gotta try. We gotta try to pass on what we know. If there's another dimensional merging in the future, this means you can fight it. But yeah, that's pretty much what's happening to us - Another dimension is merging with ours. The only problem is that that other dimension is smaller. Well, kinda. It's hard to explain. I'll put some technical details in a file on this computer or something. Basically, its causing compression fractures in our world, and opening up these really freaky black holes, and spewing lava everywhere, and there's tons of these ridiculously massive earthquakes, and... yeah. It sucks. And we're all pretty much gonna die. Ti and I are holed up in a magically reinforced bunker right now, trying to record as much as we can."_

*Subject's face grows even more grim.*

_"We're pretty much just gonna keep recording until we run out of air. This bunker will keep the records safe."_

*A pause while Subject stares at a point a little below the camera.*

_"Ugh, this got really depressing really fast. Well, there's a lot to talk about, so I'm just gonna start recording these from the top. The Crafters weren't the only ones to discover the Merging, but I was actually working at the company in our nation that first detected it. It was pretty much chaos for the first little while, but we did develop some ways to stop the Merging. I guess we started way too late, though, and we didn't have enough time for any of the methods to work._

_So yeah. Hope some of it works for you._

*Subject speaks off-camera.*

_"Is that a dramatic enough ending? I want it to sound like yours..."_

*There is a reply, but it is impossible to make out. Subject sighs and turns back to the camera looking extremely depressed.*

_"Whatever. I'll put some of those technical files in. Play the next video whenever you're done with 'em."_

*Subject leans forward towards the camera*

_-end of "doomsday log_entry01_

_-next video queued and ready to play. Play now? y/n_

_\n_

The General looked over the battlefield in triumph. The day was nearly won. He ordered a final maneuver, placing his most powerful soldier in position to strike down the opposing royalty. The enemy had obviously never seen it coming.

He looked up into the eyes of the opposing general, victory blazing in his heart, and spoke.

"Check, Keerik."

Keerik yawned and casually moved one of his knights.

"Not anymore. Oh, and also, checkmate."

The General stared at the board. He had been... Defeated...

"Aaaand I do believe that means you owe me some credits...

The General was gracious in defeat.

"Yeah whatever. There."

"Thank _you!_"

The once proud General faceplanted on his desk.

"Get lost Keerik."

Keerik got up and left, chuckling. "See ya next week, bro. Bring credits with ya."

Riven looked up from the desk, unbridled fury in his eyes, and let loose with one of his most brilliant comebacks.

"No, Keerik... YOU bring credits next week." Thunder crashed, and the building shook. Or at least it should have.

"Mmkay. Adios!"

Keerik left. Riven sat there for a moment.

"What the heck does adios mean?"

* * *

Later that evening, Riven could be found in his living cell, tapping out bits of obscure code on a holographic keyboard. His eyes were red and watery, twitching occasionally. He was mumbling to himself.

Suddenly, the little pane of glass over his right eye came to life, green light flashing across it.

_-Call from Keerik Tills_

"Answer it."

_-Connected_

Riven greeted him.

"Sup Keerik."

"Yo!"

"What does adios mean?"

"Huh?"

"Nothin'. What's up?"

"Yeah, so I just got the track reserved. The Union approved our request."

"Sweet!"

"Yeah. But it's gotta be for early tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Riven wasn't fine with that. He typically stayed up late and woke up late, but when it came to the Union, you took what you could get - so it would have to be okay.

Keerik spoke again. "Do you have that program finished?"

Riven stared at the screen for a moment.

"Uh... Yeah. Totally. All done."

"Cool, no bugs or anything?"

Riven scrolled past nearly four feet of error messages.

"Nope! It works perfectly. Can't wait to try it out."

"Cool. See ya tomorrow then. It'll be at 0640."

"Righto."

"Bye."

_-Call disconnected_

Riven stared blankly again at the screen. If this worked, the Union might reassign him to an actual tech development factory, not the mind-numbing mass-production he worked in now. Producing cybernetic implants for the military had sounded like a wicked awesome assignment at first, but it became monotonous after about the first hour. Welding the same piece of metal onto ten thousand circuit boards was awful.

Riven was pretty lucky, though; the union had allowed him to install some basic code-writing software on his home computer and personal implants. Not many citizens had the same opportunity to advance that he did. The day the union installed their own tracking cybernetics in him, he had at first felt utterly defeated. He was one of _those_ citizens, now - one of the citizens that wasn't good enough on their own - that the Union had to micro-manage. It had seemed really shameful at the time. But he had since seen it as a way to easily get the Union's attention, and maybe get his ideas recognized - and this code would be his chance!

_If_ it worked.

_Well, no sleep for me tonight._

_Pfft. Sleep. Who needs sleep?_

_Sleep is for the weak._

_Real men don't sleep, they stay up and write tons of code._

_They can stay awake for weeks, running on nothin' but the power of determination._

_Yeah._

_..._

_...Holy crap, I'm tired..._

* * *

_-Program compiled successfully_

Riven was in shock. It worked. It actually worked! He began to laugh.

"Ha. Ha ha. Ha! HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES!"

He quickly sent the program to his implanted cybernetic computer, grabbed his backpack, and sprinted out the door. The track wasn't very far from where he lived.

The panel to Riven's small, cube-shaped living cell slid to one side, and Riven burst out into a low, dark hallway. There was rows of panels that ran along the hallway for almost as far as the eye could see. Riven reached into a slot by his apartment, and retrieved a small, iron, handle-shaped object from inside. He spun back around, and jammed the handle into a long, thin groove that ran all the way down the hall along the ceiling. The handle magnetically locked in place, and a question appeared on his digital eye lens:

_-Activate mag-rails?_

"YES." He shouted.

The handle suddenly slid forward, dragging him across the highly polished floor. It was made out of a special material that stayed smooth specifically for this purpose. Riven began to pick up speed, and the rows of endless panels rushed past. Before long, he was slowing down, and approaching a large blast door at the end of the infinite hallway.

_Blast door. Why the heck do they have _blast doors_ in the living cells?_

_Probably in case the Union ever needed to shut us inside._

It was a grim thought, but Riven had seen it before. An entire living cell block had been locked down, and then the police squads had run in. The next day, the Citizen's Newsfeed had extolled the Police's efforts to put down the violent rebellion that had taken place inside a local cell block. But Riven knew better - there was no rebellion, there was no violence. Not from the citizens, anyway.

But it never did any good to fight against the Union. Better to impress them, and convince them you were worth keeping alive.

_If you can't beat 'em, join 'em._

Riven got the blast door to open and then found himself gazing at the cityscape as he sprinted down an outdoor catwalk. The catwalk hugged the side of the cell block very tightly, and eventually reached the entrance to their block's gymnasium. Skyscrapers and factories dominated the air for miles around, and the rising sun had turned the smoggy skies into a deep red-orange. Huge digital displays on the sides of nearby buildings flashed blatant propaganda at him:

"THE UNION KNOWS BEST."

"THE UNION IS YOUR FRIEND."

"OBEY THE UNION."

Riven reached the gym, as indicated by a holographic sign reading "gymnasium." He dashed through the sliding doors, and made a beeline for the back of the facility.

The place was massive, albeit with a very low ceiling. There were rows upon rows of various weight machines, treadmills, and dumbbells. Every Citizen of the Union was required to work out for a certain amount of time here each week. He made the trek to the back of the gym, and walked through a pair of doors labeled "Running track."

This ceiling here was much bigger, and the entire track resembled a massive subway tunnel, traveling for quite a ways before curving left out of view. There were lights above, and along the edges of the track, illuminating white runner's lines and various obstacles placed along some of the routes. Riven was standing in a fair-sized warm-up area just inside of the doors. There were lockers for the runners, holographic displays positioned above little podiums to track them with, and other such conveniences.

"Riven!"

Riven turned to his left to see Keerik jogging up to him.

"There you are. Got the program?"

"Yeah."

"Sweet. Let's give it a shot. Gimme a sec to get the terminal ready."

Keerik walked over to one of the displays nearby and turned it on. He would be using it to track Riven's distance and heart rate, as well as remotely monitor the newly-written code.

"Oh, and Riven, this is Commodore Bling." Riven could hear Keerik's voice shaking ever so slightly. Keerik gestured towards a darker corner of the staging area, where a man in military uniform had stood quietly. The man walked forward into the light, and Riven could see that he had a kind, open face - not something you usually saw in a Union commodore.

_Oh, crap. Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap... Why does he look so nice? UNION PEOPLE NEVER LOOK THIS NICE!_

The man extended his hand as he approached. "Hey. You must be the one Keerik said wrote the code." He was smiling.

Riven smiled nervously back. May as well make a good first impression. He shook his hand. "What kind of name is Bling?"

_Dude. Really? Moron._

Fortunately, the Commodore seemed to take it well. "A fairly strange one, I know. You can call me Seth."

"Cool. I'm Riven." He smiled again and internally facepalmed.

_Idiot! He already knows that!_

"Yes you are. Well, I'm here for the Union. I normally work in the redstone labs, but some higher-ups pulled me out for the morning. Apparently, someone saw your code during a security sweep and thought it had promise. They sent me to get a personal opinion."

"Oh. Wow. Uh, cool. Well, I guess I should... Um... Go try it out, then?"

The Commodore (Riven couldn't think of him as 'Seth') seemed to be holding back a laugh.

"Yes, I guess you should."

Riven licked his lips and walked out onto the track. Keerik called out to him.

"Kay, I'm ready for you to sync up!"

Riven tapped his right hand finger to his thumb, the signal for his eye lens to turn on.

_-Ready for command input_

"Launch endurance track dot e-x-e."

_-Launching ..._

_-Beginning system diagnostics..._

_-All biological implants functional_

_-Gathering caloric data..._

_-Gathering other biological data..._

At this point, the code began to scroll upward a dizzying speed. It stopped very suddenly, right after _"Jimmy-rustling maximized"_

_-Program has been calibrated with system and biology_

_-Ready for command input._

"Sync with that console!" Riven ordered, pointing. His cybernetics followed his pointing, and began working.

_-Sync with trackCon23?_

"Yeah." All nervousness was gone now, and he realized he was grinning wildly.

_-...Sync complete_

"Got it!" Shouted Keerik. "Streaming your data now. You can start running whenever!"

_This is working so well! Ha!_

Riven began to jog at a light pace, watching the world bounce up and down slightly as he went.

"Check endurance!"

The display over his eye changed.

_-Calories burned: 6_

_-Speed: 689cph_ - (chunks per hour)

_-At current pace- _

_Endurance time left (safe): 18:49_

_Endurance time left (injury): 23:32_

_-Optimal speed: 852cph_

Riven increased his pace, now at closer to a run, and kept at it for a minute or two.

"Check endurance!" He called again.

_-Calories burned: 39_

_-Speed: 876cph_

_-At current pace - _

_ Endurance time left (safe): 7:44_

_ Endurance time left (injury): 10:24_

_-Optimal speed: 852cph_

"WOO-HOO!" He felt elated. The program worked perfectly!

He slowed to a halt, panting.

_-Call from Keerik Tills_

"An... Answer it."

_-Connected_

"Dude, it totally works!" Keerik sounded just as excited.

"I know!"

"Try the pathfinding part of it next!"

"Yeah, I was just about to."

Riven walked into one of the obstacle lanes - mostly used for parkour training.

"Dude, do you even know how to parkour?"

"Uh, kinda."

Riven took a deep breath, oxidizing.

"Pathfind."

_-EnduranceTrack Pathfinding system initializing..._

An array of green lines appeared on his lens. There was a large, thick one that traced out a three-dimensional path for him to follow, as well as speed markers and even an event horizon.

_-Pathfinding system initialized_

"Track endurance."

Some numbers appeared at the lower right of his view on the eye lens.

_Speed: 0cph_

_EndT(S): -:-_

_EndT(I): -:-_

This would keep a running tab on his endurance and speed times.

_"Running" tab. Ha ha ha..._

Riven took another deep breath, and tensed up.

_Go._

He sprinted forward towards the nearest obstacle - a low wall. The pathfinding program even showed him where to plant his hand as he vaulted over the top. He continued sprinting as fast as he could, chest heaving, body twisting, flying over walls and under beams.

It was _aweosme_.

* * *

Riven came jogging back into the warm-up area, breathing heavily.

"Riven!" Keerik came running up to him. "It works! It worked! We saw everything from the terminal! The Commodore even took a look at your raw code!"

Riven was panting too hard to celebrate.

Commodore Bling was approaching. Riven tried to straighten himself, and not look like he had just run a few hundred chunks.

"Riven! Very impressive!"

"Th... Thank you, sir."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. Don't be so formal. Listen, I'm going to tell the Union you'd be way more useful in a redstone lab than that factory. And, between us, I'm pretty high-ranking, so they'll take my word seriously."

Riven felt bits of him starting to go numb. "Wait wait wait... So... You mean... I'm working in a redstone lab now?"

"Well, that's up to the Union." He winked. "But trust me, it's pretty much certain. See ya in a few weeks, kid. Hope you like the smell of redstone." He walked out of the track area.

Silence.

Keerik spoke, "Mother of Notch..."

Riven turned around and tackle-hugged him.

"HAHAHAHA! YES! REDSTONE LAB! A REDSTONE LAB KEERIK!"

"Dude... Get off me..."

**Author's Notes:**

**Hai thar.**

**If you've made it this far, congratulations! Your attention span is powerful, indeed. Say, as long as you're here, you may as well rate mah story and leave a review! I answer every one I get, so please don't be shy! I'm always happy to get critique or grammar corrections, just be gentle. :)**

**Pwnsbey out.**

**PEACE**


	3. Second Record

**SECOND RECORD~**

_The Miner Nation was a nation built on tradition. Ancient stone mausoleums and massive cathedrals were clustered together in a jumbled collection of masonry and magic. Although it pains me to speak of our great city in the past tense, it was truly magnificent. However, this magnificence was likely the greatest downfall of our society; for magnificence breeds pride, pride breeds stubbornness, and a stubborn nation will fail to adapt and change when it most needs to..._

It was raining. No, it was pouring. Buckets and buckets of rain gushed down over rooftops, and coursed through gutters. Tierras watched the scene from the warped window of the little upstairs room of the sick house. She had been laying in bed for two or three weeks, and it had rained the entire time. An emerald amulet on a silver chain lay across her chest, gently pulsing with dim light.

When she had first regained consciousness, she had been in this bed, with a healer standing over her. When she groaned and tried to focus her vision, the man had smiled and told her that he was happy she was awake, and she should drink this potion before she went back to sleep. The potion was sweet and thick, with little grains of something that tasted like sugar.

"Healing potion." The healer had informed her. "Now get some more sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

He wasn't. When she next came to, there was no one in the room. This angered her, and she tried to step out of bed to find someone.

Nothing happened. She couldn't move.

She tried again. Her body wouldn't respond.

She started to panic. Her head could move just fine, but nothing else would obey the commands her mind sent. She could hear a strange, repetitive, rasping sound, and she started to feel dizzy. It took her a moment to realize that she was hyperventilating.

_Keep calm. What happened? Why can't I move?_

Perhaps something about being crushed in the rubble of the cave did this to her.

_The cave! I was crushed!_

She glanced down at her body to see what state it was in, but unfortunately, someone had covered her with blankets, and she couldn't move to get them off.

Realizing this again, she had to fight off another wave of panic. What was going on?

"Hello?" She called. "HELLO?"

She thought she heard a voice downstairs, and she felt suddenly conflicted. She was incredibly vulnerable right now, if someone tried to do something to her...

Footsteps coming up the stairs.

This time, the panic made it all they way up her throat before she was able to quell it.

The door opened.

A portly lady appeared there, look at her with concern.

"Oh, my dear! You're awake!"

Tierras felt terrified. _Why am I being so irrational?_ She managed to get a few words out.

"I... I can't move..."

The woman furrowed her eyebrows, and came over to squat by the bed. Tierras would have tried to retreat to the other side, but she was immobile. The woman spoke, concerned.

"The healer was afraid of that. My dear, you have what they call "disconnect."

"Wh... what's that..?"

"It means that your mind has been separated from your body. The pathways in your back have been broken, and you can't move anything past the break. You body keeps breathing and sending energy to your mind, but your mind has lost touch with it. It can be very distressing."

Tierras just stared at her, horrified.

"I'll send for the healer, he said to let him know when you were awake again. I'll be right back up with some food for you, too." The kindly woman left the room.

Tierras felt something hot in her eyes, and tears began to tickle her face.

She couldn't even wipe them away...

The healer was talking again.

"...risky, but you might be mobile again."

"I'll do it."

"Are you sure? The effects could - "

"I'll do it." She interrupted again. "Put it on me."

"Well, alright. But this is going to hurt."

"I - Don't - Care. Put it on."

The healer rummaged in his pack for a moment before withdrawing a cloth-covered wooden stick.

"Bite down on this."

"Why?"

"Pain management."

She complied, her determination overwhelming the nervousness she felt.

The healer now drew out a green amulet.

"Alright, here we are. Brace yourself."

He slipped the chain of the amulet between her head and the pillow, and over her neck.

There was nothing but the cold of the metal at first. Then, she felt a pressure growing in her spine between her shoulders. The pressure became more and more pronounced, until it felt like a spear being pushed into her torso. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and her jaw clenched around the stick, but she refused to scream. She would not allow herself to become that weak. Then she felt her spine shift under the pressure, and her back popped. A sudden, frigid, liquid feeling raced down from that spot in her back, running through the veins in her body; and then every nerve lit up at once in its wake, burning her, tearing her mind apart in daze of pain.

The pain started to retreat. Slowly. Unbearably slowly. She was panting. Her jaw hurt, and her teeth were embedded slightly into the cloth and wood. The agony in her nerves was now closer to a buzzing vibration.

A single sob escaped her, and she hated herself for it.

Her arm twitched, and she mentally froze. She had felt it twitch. She tried to lift the arm, and the buzzing flared back into agony.

But it didn't matter. She had moved. And that was a relief.

The healer talked for a little longer, explaining that the amulet acted as a go-between for her mind and body. She must keep it on at all times in order to be able to move. She should stay in bed for a day or two more to let her mind get used to working with the body again. Then he left, and she lay there once again helpless.

But this time it wouldn't be permanent. She still had a chance to get into the Mage's College.

_One or two days. I can do this._

And here she was, a full _three days_ later. She had fought the portly lady and the healer on it every step of the way. Technically, she was supposed to wait until tomorrow morning to leave, but that wasn't going to happen. They had allowed her to pack her things early (the pack from the mines, and some mage's robes they had given to her) in preparation for her departure. The woman had planned on sending her off with a breakfast in the morning, but Tierras didn't need to eat. She needed to get moving as soon as possible.

_And it's far easier to steal in the nighttime._

Tierras watched the last rays of the sun disappear, and quietly moved out of bed. All the buzzing in her nerves was gone, now. She donned her mage's hood and robes, and eased the door to her room open. Ten minutes later, she was exiting the sick house into the flooded streets, with all the gold the woman had left in the pouch behind a counter in the kitchen.

_Stealing from sleeping people is even easier._

The rain coursed off the treated leather of her hood, and over her shoulders. Tierras was suddenly struck by how _open_ everything was. Thesky alone! It was so _infinite_! It made her feel helpless and tiny. The massive stone buildings all around her loomed so high, and were so intricate. It was incredible. It was all very unsettling, but... nice, somehow. The feeling was foreign to her.

Tierras set off at a walk towards the Mage's college, the large, elegant fortress in the middle of the city. It had high towers, and lofty bridges between them. Stone gargoyles and other such statues dotted the sides of the College's rooftops at intervals, and the water cascaded artfully off of specially-chiseled surfaces.

Tierras briefly wondered why the streets were so empty. Shouldn't the city have lots of people always moving around? Maybe everyone sleeps at night. That was a strange thought. What if you had something that had to be done, and it was nighttime?

She made her way towards the center of the city, head bowed. What if no one was there to let her in? Perhaps she should have stayed for that breakfast after all.

_But then again_, she considered _I've lived through far worse than one night of rain. And the gold I have is worth more than a simple breakfast._

Something was splashing through the street in front of her. She looked up to see the figure of a man in mage's clothes approaching her. What does he want? She tried to walk past him without making eye contact, but he cut her off, standing far too close.

_Oh, no..._

The man spoke over the rain. "Out at night? You must be right out of the mines. Pretty lady like you shouldn't be out alone, you know..."

Tierras said nothing, but slowly began to backpedal.

"Ah, now don't go, we've only just met!"

The man reached forward to grab her arm, and she felt terror jolt her into action. She whipped her right hand across his face, jagged fingernails cutting through the top of his skin. He shouted in surprise, and let her go. Tierras turned around, and began to dash back through the streets.

_Made it - !_

No sooner had she thought the words before an invisible force encased her body, and pulled her backward over the cobblestone street.

_What-?_

The force suddenly vanished, and she fell onto her back, crashing into the hard stone and knocking all the breath out of her lungs. The man's figure stood above her, and she could see the air around his hand shimmering.

_Magic._ The thought was laced with dread.

His hand flashed, and electricity burst from it and into her form, seizing up muscles and burning lines of pain in her flesh. The mage then crouched over her, and seized her by the collar. He lifted her up and dragged her into a crooked nearby alleyway. She fought him every block of the way, but couldn't break the grip. She was suddenly flung into the mud that had accumulated between the narrow walls. She tried to get up, but suddenly found a knife held to her throat, and the mage almost crushing her with his body weight. "Now, you're not going to give us any trouble here, are you, miss?" Two more shapes were approaching from the back end of the alley.

_He has friends... Oh, Notch, he has friends..._

"Get off me!"

He laughed. The knife point wandered to the chain that held the amulet. "What's this? A pretty trinket for a pretty lady, hm?"

_No! NO!_

He lifted the chain with it, and the amulet itself became visible. "Ah! Beautiful. And certainly worth a fortune. Well, you won't be missing it, now will you?." He put pressure behind his knife to cut the relatively fine chain.

_No_. All emotion had rushed out of her at once. She didn't feel terrified now - all that remained was the cold certainty that one of them was not going to leave the alley alive.

And it wasn't going to be her.

She seized the knife by the blade, the metal biting deep into her right palm. The man inhaled sharply, presumably to yell, but she punched him hard in the side of the jaw, and he reared back, releasing the knife. He looked back down at her just in time to see her slowly and deliberately pull the knife out of the flesh of her hand. She was staring at him, not blinking, her eyes utterly cold and venomous. He looked shocked, and moved a hand back to cast a spell. Tierras suddenly lunged at him from where she lay, and whipped the knife across his face.

The man howled and stumbled back into the alley wall. His compatriots rushed at her, but before they could do anything, she had kicked her attacker in the groin, and punched the blade into his midsection twice. The stabs caused him to hunch forward, and she suddenly found herself holding him hostage from behind, knife at his throat, facing the other two mages. They skidded to a halt.

There was no sound for a moment but just the rain. It had happened all so fast...

"Leave," she hissed. "Now." The two mages looked between each other, and then back at her. A ball of fire suddenly sprung up in one's hand, and by the light of it, she could see him glaring at her, calling out her bluff.

_Friend, there is no bluff here. I can play this game._

Coldly, she stared back, and repositioned the knife with the point at her captive's throat. Then she pushed it in.

The man writhed and thrashed against her, but she held him steady, strengthened by adrenaline. She twisted the knife, and wormed it around, opening up a massive gash and mutilating his neck. Blood, shockingly red, burst forth from the wound. The other two mages had frozen, in shock.

"Leave." She hissed again, and emphasized the word with another thrust of the knife.

The two mages tore out of the alley without a second glance.

Tierras dropped the body into the muck on the ground, and then vomited against the wall. Her body was shaking.

_That was way too close._

She sunk to her knees, involuntary sobs rising. She had been nearly helpless against their magic. This wasn't even a fair fight.

_No._ She told herself. _There's no such thing as a fair fight. It wasn't unfair, it was a failure on my part. Don't let emotions get in the way._

She knelt there in the mud, staring at the body, rain pouring all around her. Her quivering mouth set itself, and her eyes squeezed shut.

_I will never be at anyone's mercy again. I'll kill them all, hurt them enough that no one will ever try to dominate me for the rest of my life._

_NO ONE._

Dawn came, and saw a young woman in mage's garb, covered in mud, walk into the grand hall of the mage's college. She had cold steel in her eyes. There was a large, circular desk in the middle of the hall, with round shelving behind it, holding the records for every mage that attended. She approached the clerk that sat behind the desk, jaw clenched.

"I'm here to enroll."

"Ah, wonderful! Just from the mines, then?"

The clerk was old and bearded, and wore a pleasant smile.

She gave a curt nod.

"Well, then, which discipline of magic were you going to enroll under? Horticulture? Potion-making? If you're unsure, Enchanting is always a wonderful place to start."

The young woman narrowed her eyebrows. She clenched one fist, and some blood leaked out from between the white knuckles.

"Battle Magic."

**Author's notes:**

**Geez. Tierras scares me, and I freaking _wrote_ her. If you've ever written something, you probably know what it feels like to have characters that don't actually feel like you wrote them - it's almost more like they introduce themselves to you... O.o Probably enough to get me diagnosed with multiple personalities disorder...**

**ANYWAY**

**Thanks for readin' so far. Please rate and leave a review. If you don't want to, do it anyway. If you don't want to do it anyway, do it anyway. If you are still rebelling against my instruction, master your rebellious instincts and do as I say regardless.**

**Pwnsbey out.**

**Adios.**


	4. Entry02

_-Welcome back, User._

_-WARNING: OS is loading a file automatically. Continue? y/n_

_\y_

_-loading video..._

_-playing "doomsday log_entry02"..._

{The display once again shows the subject; a grimy, cybernetic teen holding a short, thick metal rod with a glowing red tip.}

_"Right. So this is a modern version of the redstone torch. A long time ago, we used sticks with redstone-infused tips, but nowadays, we can create more powerful pulses by conducting the signal with certain kinds of..."_

{Someone from off-camera calls the subject's attention. He looks annoyed, but turns back to the camera.}

_"Soooooo Ti says I should explain what redstone is, which is probably a smart idea. Although if you don't know already, I have no idea how you'd know how work this computer..."_

{Subject rolls his eyes.}

_"Sigh."_

{Note - he actually uses the word 'sigh.'}

_"Redstone conducts energy. That's pretty much it. If it's heated up a ton, it constantly emits a signal, which can be conducted by more redstone. Basically, a long time ago, some dude figured out how to melt it down without activating it, and then used it to make circuit boards and stuff. Um, circuits are just like, combinations of redstone wire and diodes and stuff..."_

_"So... I think it'll be best if I just put all the redstone info in a file on a computer. It'll probably be easier to understand that way, I guess."_

{A voice is once again heard off-camera, and he glares at it.}

_"Shut up, Ti. Anyway, it's not super-complicated or anything, but there's lotsa stuff you can do with it. Like this."_

{Riven holds up the redstone torch for emphasis.}

_"This guy has tons of energy stored in the rod part of it. So, you can use it to transmit energy, or read a signal without actually wiring up any redstone - which is just awesome. We had a bunch of, um, well basically really big versions of these in the redstone lab where I worked, and we used them to detect the rifts when the dimensions merged. So, if you have any means of finding dimensional energy wirelessly, use 'em - It'll save your butt."_

{Subject casually drops the redstone torch.}

_"So yeah. Catch ya later. I'll put all the redstone tech details under this file directory. PEACE!"_

_-end of "doomsday log_entry02_

_-next video queued and ready to play. Play now? y/n_

_\n_

* * *

Riven received his transfer orders from the Union about a week after the day at the track. He was allowed to bring his citizen-issue backpack and whatever belongings would fit in it, but no more. Riven did not find this too concerning, all he really needed was his central computer and holo projector, anyway.

_REDSTONE LAB 022._ What an original title. The building in question was a respectably tall skyscraper, made entirely from some kind of smooth, white stone. Or perhaps it was industrial plastic. Plastic seemed more likely to him. There was a small entrance at the base of the structure, with a revolving door.

_Sweet. I love these doors._

Riven walked into the lobby. He would have made more passes through the door, but a Union official was walking through the other side, and it didn't seem like a smart thing to do with him there.

The interior was very spartan. He had walked into a large round foyer, with a low ceiling, red carpet, and a single reception desk. Riven showed his transfer papers to the secretary at the desk, and stepped into the elevator, which automatically carried him to one of the upper floors. When the doors slid open, Riven was greeted by the sight of a massive white room with a distant black ceiling.. It had catwalks running across it on multiple stories, and huge mechanical monstrosities were surrounded by scaffolding. Riven caught a powerful whiff of something spicy and metallic.

_Commodore Bling wasn't kidding about the smell of redstone..._

Riven stepped forward uncertainly, not sure of where he was supposed to be. The elevator closed behind him, and for the first time he noticed how cold it was. He could see his breath in front of him. An engineer carrying an armful of dangerous-looking sharp objects walked in front of him, and gave him a strange look. Riven capitalized on the attention.

"Sup. I'm new here. You have any idea where I could find Commodore Bling?"

The surprised engineer wordlessly pointed to a large observation booth at the very top of the lab.

"Cool. How do I get up there?"

The engineer indicated a utility turbolift a short distance away.

"Sweet, thanks." Riven left the man behind and stood on the little plate inside the turbolift. A prompt appeared on a little panel by the doorway.

_-Please select a floor._

"Straight to the top, suckah!"

There was a pause while the system dissected his deplorable grammar.

_-Destination: Upper Catwalks._

The plate beneath his feet suddenly accelerated upwards, and the speed nearly caused Riven to collapse to the ground.

_-Arrived at Upper Catwalks._

Riven hastily stepped out of the turbolift and onto the catwalk. He was very close to the black ceiling here, and a mess of pipes and cabling surrounded the walkways. Riven made his way to the booth, cheerily greeting any engineer who he happened to run into. The booth itself was perhaps a little larger than his living cell had been, and was labeled "PROJECT OPERATIONS." Cool. The booth had no doors, only openings where it touched the catwalks, so he walked right in. Commodore Bling was standing on the other side of a three-dimensional holotable, poking at a model of some kind of advanced engine. He saw Riven as soon as he walked in.

"Riven!" He swiped downward, and the hologram tucked itself away. "Glad you made it!"

"Yeah. This place is sick."

"Mm. Come with me, I'll give you the grand tour."

The lab was bigger than Riven had originally thought. Every 20 blocks or so, a new project area was mapped out with red tape on the floor. Several cables carrying Redstone Flux energy dangled above each station, and assistants ran back and forth with supplies for the engineers. Commodore led Riven to the far end of the lab, pointing out the little office doors that lined the edges of the massive room.

"These are your individual apartments, it's where you'll be staying while you're here. You're allowed to have your own name for the apartment if you like, so long as the name passes Union inspection." There were holographic signs above each of the doors, with the name of their owners.

_Jant's Office_

_Henneck's Apartment_

_Etho's Lab_

The Commodore pointed to a blank one directly in front of them.

"This one's yours. It's already coded to your digital signal. As long as your Citizen's trackers are online, you can get in."

Riven walked towards the door, and it opened automatically, revealing very spartan living quarters. It contained a bed, Union observation cameras, and a holodesk.

"Dang. I get my own holodesk?"

"Yep. Only for official business, though. If the Union needs to contact you informally, they'll do it with on the holodesk. You can also work on any project code in here if the lab is shut down for the night."

Riven notices a hooded jacket laying on his bed.

"Oh, good. I was starting to freeze out there."

"Well, that's why we wear these. Redstone runs better in the cold."

After Commodore Bling left, Riven sat down and switched on the holodesk.

_-System online. Want to name quarters? (optional) y/n_

_\y_

_-Please enter a name_

_\WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD_

_Genius._

Riven leaned back and closed his eyes.

* * *

"NO! STAY WITH ME! DON'T DIE ON ME NOW! NO NO NONONOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_-ERROR: system crashed. Error in code compilation._

Riven laid his head down on the project holodesk and sobbed. He had worked for so long, and it had all been for naught. This was the end. THE END.

A voice from above him. "Um... Riven, right?"

"What do you want from me?" His voice was wretched.

"Um... I have the pneumatic servos you asked for..."

"Oh!" Riven's head popped up, delighted. "Sweet. I needed those."

The girl assigned as his project group's assistant stared at him.

"Yeah... Um... Anything else..?"

"Nah, this is good. Thanks, Sylvester!"

"...It's Sylastar..."

"Yeah!"

The girl walked away, looking rather disoriented, and perhaps a bit annoyed.

_He's so confusing! Why can't he be as predictable and methodical as the other engineers..?_

Riven inserted the eight pneumatic servos into the complex metal chassis. He still had an hour left before his shift technically started, perhaps he could get this up and running before then. He fused the servos into their proper places with a welding torch, and then wired up the circuitry to each one. He checked the clock.

_Fifty minutes. I can do this._

He set to work on his code with a vengeance, tapping out nearly incomprehensible characters at light speed. Now that he had those servos installed, victory seemed so much closer.

45 minutes later,

_-Compiling code..._

Riven held his breath. The moment of truth...

_-Code compiled successfully. Ready for install._

"Aw, HECK YES!"

The newly arrived engineers in his project group were used to his antics by now, and didn't even startle when he cried out.

_\copy droneCode to /home/devices/unnameddevice_

_-copying..._

_-done._

There. The code was installed. Riven turned towards his new, diminutive, personal drone. It was a quadrocopter, with a three-dimensional swiveling camera suspended in the center, and some grasping arms on the bottom. It would require very little energy to power, so a unactivated redstone torch welded inside the drone would be enough to keep it powered almost indefinitely.

Riven kick-started the redstone torch with a quick burst from his welding laser, and the drone's little indicator lights flicked on. Riven was smiling widely and uncontrollably at this point, and he watched the drone begin to perform self diagnostics. A few of the blades spun, and servos whirred. The arms each performed a rapid twitch, and then it sat still. A prompt appeared on the holotable:

_-Software installed and optimized to drone. Please enter a name for the drone:_

Noises came from his new drone. It beeped a few times and buzzed at him. Riven watched as it leapt up into the air, a little wobbly, and then began to excitedly fly circles around his head, chirping loudly the entire time. Riven looked back to the holotable.

_\Ragnar the Destroyer._

Ragnar was thrilled with his new name, Riven could tell.

A loud bell rang out across the lab floor, signalling that it was time for work to begin.

"Ragnar, come!" Shouted Riven. He expected Ragnar to hover behind him and slightly to one side, at the programmed 'ready' position, but the little robot zipped over to his shoulder, and perched there, humming contentedly, the blades almost reaching Riven's neck.

Riven was a little disappointed he didn't get a chance to install any metal plating on Ragnar before his shift, but hey, the little guy didn't seem to mind.

"Alright, Ragnar. Today we're gonna see if we can build a better version of the redstone flux capacitor. Wanna document it for me?"

Ragnar chirped once, and then took off from Riven's shoulder, buzzing around the project area, filming every piece of Riven's models.

_This thing is freaking adorable._

A metallic gauntlet-like object lay on the desk by him. He picked it up and slid it over the left sleeve of his jacket. A hiss came from the systems inside, and the straps tightened python-like around his arm. A black screen dominated the outside surface of the device, and when Riven clenched his left fist, it came to life. Holograms and displays spun around it, and a message proudly shone out at him.

_-Digital Bracer online._

_As controlling as the union is, they sure give us cool toys._

Riven swiped his fingers a few times in the display, and a new message displayed.

_-Synced with remote drone "Ragnar the Destroyer"_

A live video feed was now displaying on his arm, as well as controls to manually fly Ragnar.

"Riven!" Another one of the engineers.

"Yo!"

"Let's get started on this thing. I need you to get this gun barrel printed out." The engineer had a 3-dimensional model of the gun barrel in question rotating above the holotable. He flicked it towards Riven, and it transferred to the space above his Bracer.

Riven grinned. _I love my job_, he thought, and made his way across the lab to the advanced 3-D printer.

* * *

The next several weeks flew by. Work at the redstone lab was fun and engaging. Orders from the Union would come into the engineers' holotables, and they would set to work with all haste. Ragnar proved to be particularly useful to Riven, recording minute details of his work, and bringing him small supplies from other parts of the lab.

Riven typically stayed up much later past working hours than the other engineers, forgetting food and sleep, totally engrossed in a project. It was in this state that Sylastar the assistant found Riven sitting at his project holotable late at night, eyes bloodshot and staring at the display, stunned.

"Riven?"

No response.

"Riven!"

"...Uh..?"

"Why are you still up?"

"...Sylvester... Look..."

Sylastar walked behind him and peered over his shoulder at the computer screen. It was running several lines of code over and over. It made absolutely no sense to her.

"What?"

"I... think I just doubled redstone pulses."

"...What?"

"Look." He pointed to a small setup of circuitry wired into the side of the computer.

"...Riven, you should probably be asleep..."

"No, look! Redstone normally only pulses once every two ticks, but I think I found out how to pulse it _every single tick_. Do you get what that means?!"

"I... I don't..."

"I've just doubled the speed of _every_ single electronic device the Union has!" He started laughing.

"Every computer we have can run twice as fast! Ha! Twice as fast, Sylvester! Haha!"

Sylastar was catching on at this point, and if Riven was right, this could mean a lot for the Crafter nation. They could run far more advanced programs, and run them faster. It meant every computer in the nation could handle twice as much as it used to.

"Wow, Riven, that's... Incredible."

"I KNOW!" He leapt up and hugged her spontaneously. "I don't even know how this happened!"

He suddenly let her go.

"Will you stay here and watch this and make sure it doesn't blow up again? I'm gonna go grab the Commodore."

"Um, yeah, sure."

"Thanks, Sylvester!" he shouted, sprinting for the turbolift.

Riven ended up showing his work to fourteen different people, each of varying importance in the Union. They asked him to replicate the experiment each time, and he did so. He even managed to create a modified computer core using the pulse doubling device, and showed how it worked. By the time the media showed up, the sun was shining through the windows, and a sleep-deprived Riven crazily addressed the reporters, looking every part the mad scientist stereotype.

"How did you do it, Riven? What tipped you off that redstone could pulse twice as often?"

"HA! Dude, I have NO IDEA! It was totally an accident!"

"How does it feel to know that you are now a national hero, Riven?"

"IT TOOK LONG ENOUGH! HA HA!"

"Where do you hope this technology will first be used?"

"Pfft, I'm gonna be the first. Gonna upgrade my HUD as soon as you guys all leave! WOO!"

And he would have, too; but after they left, Commodore Bling, seeing that Riven was still running after over 24 hours without sleep, ordered him to bed.

Riven dazedly complied, still grinning wildly.

"I'm a national hero, Commodore. A national. Freaking. Hero."

"Commodore Bling smiled at Riven's retreating back, and spoke quietly.

"You deserve it bud. You deserve it."

**Author's Notes: **

**Howdy. Thanks for readin' this! PLEASE rate and review, it SERIOUSLY helps! I answer every review I get! New chapter real soon, stay tuned.**


	5. Third Record

_THIRD RECORD~_

_ ...Combat magic is divided into three categories: Elemental, Kinetic, and Enhancement. Elemental magic focuses on the manipulation of natural elements such as water, fire, and lightning. There are complex rules in summoning the elements that must be adhered, or the spells will fail to cast. Fire must be gathered by consolidating heat from the environment, or feeding a current flame more energy from the caster's body, for example. Kinetic magic turns the more utilitarian Telekinesis (so commonly used by charmsmages) into a weapon. Though less refined, kinetic magic is far more powerful. Enhancement magic has to do with the empowerment of bodily powers that already naturally exist in a Miner, such as muscular strength, eyesight, or physical endurance..._

_Mages hoarded knowledge. Catalogued spells were more precious than gold to our nation, and our society encouraged us to spend our days in the endless pursuit of arcane knowledge and tradition, never to acknowledge any world outside our own._

The library was undoubtedly the most impressive building in the mage's college. It was a massive, needle-like spire that stretched into the sky for thousands of blocks. The outside was sheathed in plain, smooth stone, and very gradually tapered to a point at the top that was perhaps only one block thick. The interior was considerably more extravagant. The entire one-third lower section of the spire was a single, spacious room, perhaps five chunks across. Tables and comfortable chairs were placed across the wooden planks of the lowest floor, and robed mages poured over books and wrote on bits of parchment there. The walls were endlessly lined with bookcases and ladders, spiraling up the spire as far as the eye could see.

Floating in the center of the room was a large stone sphere, with arcane symbols and lines charted over it. It slowly revolved as mages studied it from an upper balcony. Books flew through the air of their own accord, sorting themselves into their proper places, and coming to the mages that summoned them. Once in a while, one of the mages studying at the tables would close his book and hurl it into the air, where it would then swoop back off to its assigned shelf.

One could reach the other levels of the spire by climbing a rather precarious-looking double helix staircase that circled the borders of the tower.

Tierras was standing in the middle of the floor, studious mages silently bustling about her. This place was incredible. She watched a mage at a nearby table call out "Thaumonomicon, Fourth Version." Several seconds later, a book fell towards him, and he caught it with both hands.

Tierras decided to try something. "Bring me a beginner's guide to battle magic!"

A book reversed its direction mid-flight, and came to her. She caught it, and looked at the cover.

_Learning to Cast for Maximum Harm: Battle Magicks for New Mages_

Seemed to fit the bill.

It was a well-known fact that Miners typically failed to follow any sort of regular sleeping pattern for the next several years after their mining tours. Tierras was no exception. The library was dark, and she was reading by the soft pinkish glow of patrolling weirlights. The light was soothing, dreamlike, and made one feel like simply sitting in the semi-darkness and thinking for a while.

It would be dawn in a few hours. Tierras sat back from the book, suddenly noticing the buzzing headache in her skull. Her stomach ached, too.

_When did I last eat or drink anything..?_

It had, in fact, been more than 24 hours, but Tierras was too mentally exhausted to figure that out on her own. She lay her head down on the cool, polished wood of the table and exhaled. The weirlights were soothing, and for the first time in many, many years, she completely relaxed into a dreamless sleep.

Tierras awoke a few hours later and sat up, wincing. Her head was pounding now, and the morning light streaming into the spire hurt her eyes. She sat up, feeling the pains in her neck and back, and twisted back and forth to remove them. She stood from her chair and walked out of the library. For the first time since escaping the mines, it was not raining or overcast. The sky was a brilliant blue that seemed to stretch on for eternity. Tierras felt a little dizzy looking up at it, totally overwhelmed by the sheer expanse of the sky.

A mage jostled past her, and the contact shook her from her daze. She grit her teeth, but did nothing to him, despite the sudden anger that had risen in her chest.

_Wouldn't be a wise move anyway. Need to learn how to fight first._

As Tierras made her way to the Duelling Hall, it occurred to her that she _did_ already know how to fight. The beginner's guide to battle magic had explained that fighting was largely a mental state that the fighter had to adopt. There were two mentalities, the book had said, that would contribute to a victory in a fight.

The first was aggression, or the desire to _harm_ someone else, for whatever reason. The point of aggression was to turn the conflict into something more than a difference between two parties, and into a primal competition for dominance, removing the barrier of human sympathy.

The second mentality was desperation, or the instinct to survive. The book pointed out, however, that this was a more risky attitude. If it was present, but not strong enough, a fighter was more likely to run from the conflict or make a mistake. But if the fighter was truly desperate, they would become hyper-focused, as well as be able to forsake any piece of emotion that would block them from doing something truly devastating to their opponent.

_Like beating someone to steal their ores._

_Or taking a pack from a girl's dying corpse._

_...Or gouging out someone's throat in an alleyway..._

The duelling hall was interesting. It should have been a little more practical-looking, Tierras thought, but stained glass and intricate carvings covered the high walls of the structure.

_I guess they have enchantments to protect them from damage or something._

She walked cautiously through the large wooden doors at the entrance.

_Ach... So the enchantments must only be on the outside._

The interior was a single massive room, covered in scorch marks and cracks in the stone. The pillars that framed the large stained glass windows (the only parts that seemed untouched) were warped and even melted in some places from intense heat.

Pairs of combatants danced around each other on the floor. Spellblades with enchanted weaponry engaged in complex swordplay, and battlemages were casting bolts of light at each other. There were large circles inscribed in some kind of glowing chalk on the ground at intervals, marking out the areas in which the pairs could fight.

What surprised Tierras was that there were no safeguarding spells to protect the fighters. Whenever someone was injured, Healers stationed on the side would tend to them, and the fighter would return to their duel afterwards.

A cluster of mages were gathered around an ancient large wooden bulletin board, pointing at nailed-up pieces of parchment. Tierras slowly walked over to the group, being sure to stay outside of its perimeter. From here she could read the pieces of parchment. Some of them seemed to be outlining some kind of dueling tournament, others were just general announcements.

Very few mages attended actual classes to learn their disciplines - The burden was mostly upon the student to study and learn the concepts of magic on their own, and then they could use the college's facilities to practice those arts. Battle Magic was no exception, but there were several archmages there to correct technique and provide some instruction.

One of these archmages stood nearby, squinting at the board. He looked to be on his way out of middle age, with a short-cropped salt-and-pepper beard and a worn face. His body was lean and tight as whipcord, his muscles taut and well-defined. Tierras steeled herself, and approached him. His eyes slid smoothly away from the board and locked onto her face. Tierras could see an old predator behind those eyes.

_But a predator no longer. He is the old wolf that teaches the cubs to fight. He is a mentor. He's my best shot at learning to fight._

"Are you a beginner here?" the old man asked.

"Yes."

He looked her form up and down, and Tierras felt very exposed. He was analyzing her, determining her usefulness in a fight. It made her skin itch to be so scrutinized, but she stood her ground.

_This is necessary if I'm going to become a killer._

"Have you already studied the three branches of battle magic?" He asked abruptly.

"Yes."

He grunted. "Any preference?"

"I... I haven't tried any yet."

A mild look of annoyance crossed his face. "Do you at least know how to spar?"

"Spar?"

"Hand-to-hand fighting."

_I think so..._ Tierras was growing more and more panicked with every question he asked. "I... I did a lot of it in the mines."

"Mm. Well. Everyone has to start somewhere, I suppose. Come over here."

He led Tierras into one of the dueling rings.

"Let's see your style. Take a fighting stance."

Tierras raised her fists uncertainly.

The old wolf suddenly stepped in towards her, and Tierras flinched back violently. The man lashed out with his right leg, catching her across the temple. She fell back onto the cold stone, dazed. It was incredible how much _force_ had hit her head from that one kick. She rolled over to her right, and her mind cleared as adrenaline began to kick in. She stood up quickly, and turned to face the instructor. He had taken a hopping step sideways towards her, and had one leg cocked back, using all his momentum to deliver a devastating sideways kick with his heel to her ribcage.

As he did, she stepped to her left slightly and turned, using her forearm to deflect the kick. The instructor countered with a right-hand punch, making the most efficient use of the momentum he built up for the kick. Tierras could see it out of the left of her eye. Time seemed to slow, and she ducked her head instinctively.

Suddenly the moment passed, and a huge rush of air blew past her as the old man passed by. They whirled to face each other. Tierras' heart was pounding, and she was breathing hard. The instructor tucked his head in a bit, raised his fists to collarbone level, and began to approach her again, moving side to side slightly as he came.

_He's a better fighter than me._

_Much better._

_I have to win._

_Take him by surprise._

_Now. Go!_

Tierras suddenly rushed at him, and jabbed hard at his head with her left fist. The man was clearly caught by surprise, but unfortunately, his lowered head prevented her from doing any real damage. Her blow glanced briefly off the crown of his skull, and then he rapidly pivoted, and using her momentum hurled her to the ground. She found she was easily pulled off-balance, and crashed into the rock floor, as the old man twisted her arm behind her back, pinning her.

She felt him shift above her, and she bucked forward like a wild horse, causing him to lose hold of her arm. She scrambled forward, but felt him attempt to seize her neck in a chokehold. She spun around on her back, and his chokehold slipped. He was on top of her, and pinned her left arm down with his right. Fear jolted her body again, and she whipped her right hand across his face, feeling her (purposefully) jagged fingernails rip through the leathery flesh. He reared back, once again caught off-guard. She took the opportunity to extract one leg, and kick him hard in the stomach.

She sat up, just in time to see his approaching hand. He struck her straight with the heel of the palm in her face, and the collision threw her head back. She felt her neck lock up, and white stars danced in front of her eyes. She felt him spin around behind her, and one of his arms snaked around her neck.

The arm tightened against her windpipe, and she would have coughed if she was able. Her head immediately started buzzing, and blackness rapidly approached the edges of her vision.

_No._

_NO!_

Tierras blacked out.

A white light rushed through Tierras' bones, and flushed out all the bruised areas in her skin. She could feel it flood her head, and suddenly she was very wide-awake. She opened her eyes, and saw a healer in white robes standing over her.

"Come on, now. Can you sit up?"

She could. She took it a step further and rose to her feet, feeling surprisingly steady on her feet.

"Anything still hurt?" the healing mage was giving her a curt look-over as he spoke.

"Um... No. I'm fine." She stepped away from him. As she hoped, the healer dismissed her and moved on to the next injured fighter.

Tierras moved to leave the hall, but she noticed the old instructor approaching. She tried to walk faster, but he caught up to her and cut her off.

"Stay here. We need to talk about your fighting before you leave."

Tierras swallowed and nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"You are unpracticed, and you are impulsive. This makes you very unpredictable in your fights, and that can be good or bad. Good, because your opponent won't know what's coming next; bad, because you don't either. Look at me. Now take up that fighting stance again."

Tierras complied, though she felt rather tense.

"Your feet are both facing me - that's bad. Leaves you off-balance. Turn sideways. Now turn your head."

Tierras followed his orders, and found that she felt much more mobile in this position.

"Good!" He said. "Now when I throw this punch, I want you to step in here and grab my wrist like this..."

The two of them drilled for hours, leaving Tierras sweaty and exhausted. The old man didn't even appear winded. Tierras planted her hands on her knees, panting. There were bruises all over her body, and her mouth was dry from heavy breathing. Her vision blurred a bit, and she felt a little dizzy.

_By Notch, I'm out of shape..._ She realized the instructor was talking to her.

"...very well, despite the short time we practiced. You have promise. Rest for the afternoon, but be back here in the evening, and we'll begin training in magic."

Emotions raged out of control in Tierras' mind. On one hand, coming back meant subjecting herself to the old man's authority - something she had zero desire to do. She had planned to practice on her own, or minimally with the other students, to avoid coming under anyone's power. On the other hand, personal instruction from an obviously skilled teacher was too great a resource to pass up.

_Logically, I suppose it's better to be subject to one man now, and ensure dominance over everyone else later._

All this passed through her mind in perhaps three seconds.

"I... Yes. Sir. I will be there."

"Good. What's your name, now?"

She hesitated. "Tierras."

_I have to counter,_ she thought frantically. _Any upper hand he gains is a loss on my part._

"What's yours?"

"You may call me Archmage Burren." He rolled the r's in his name a little as he said it.

Tierras turned to leave, but Burren called out to her one last time.

"Tierras! May I ask what that amulet is for?"

A sudden rush of panic came through Tierras' head, and she felt for the amulet under her robes. It was still there.

"It was a gift," she said, and swiftly exited the duelling hall.

Tierras walked out of The Diamond Minecart. It had been a rather... Dumpy tavern when compared to the other buildings around the Mage's College, but it certainly seemed popular, and anything was a paradise after living in the mines. Tierras had mostly sat in a corner, quietly nursing her various wounds, and watching the other patrons.

Drunk mages were loud. And obnoxious. And easy to rob.

She pushed a few gold coins a little deeper into her pockets.

She made her way back to the duelling hall. It was dusk now, and the Citadel glittered in the fading light. She could see mages lighting the strange, pinkish weirlights once again.

_Nitor? I think I heard someone call them Nitor._

The dueling hall was lit by Nitor as well, and the flashes from mage's spells, as well as their various shouts lent the place an eerie, ethereal quality, like a dream-not-quite-nightmare that Tierras was fully lucid for.

She found Archmage Burren crouching with a healer over a defeated mage's body, showing him where to start when healing cracked skulls. The mage in question was obviously concussed, and oozing blood in a large puddle over the stone floor.

_Burren's last sparring partner?_ Tierras wondered. _Well, I wouldn't want training from an incompetent._

Burren stood up as she came near. "Tierras. Welcome. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes." _Keep your words to the bare minimum. You know the drill._

"Excellent. Come with me."

He lead her into one of the chalk-line duelling circles. The light cast his face into a shadowy smudge with glowing highlights. Nitor granted nothing if not ambience.

"Let's start with enhancement said you've never used magic before?"

Tierras pursed her lips. "No."

"Well, I'm here to teach you. Has anyone ever ignited you?"

Ignition was the process of magically kickstarting a person's mana reservoir by injecting mana into their 'slipstream' - the invisible flow of magic that ran through every person.

"No."

"Hm. Come here."

He extended both of his hands toward her, palms up. "Give me your hands."

Tierras unwillingly placed her hands on top of his, and he gripped them loosely, calloused fingers curled slightly.

"Exhale," he instructed, voice relaxed, "Close your eyes and try to feel the stream on magic coming from me."

Tierras clenched her eyes shut, but an irrational part of her mind screamed at her to get out, get away from this man who held her captive. Screamed for her to run.

"You're not relaxed," growled Burren.

This irritated Tierras for some reason. "I'm trying," she said curtly.

"No. You're scared. This isn't a fight, calm down."

_This isn't a fight,_ she repeated to phrase to herself._ Not a fight. Relax. No threats present. Calm. Breathe._

Her shoulders fell, and she felt strained muscles in her neck reluctantly give way. She inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. She let her eyes sit comfortably shut, no longer squeezing them.

Now she could feel it - a silky, rushing sensation flooding into her arms.

_Magic! This is what magic feels like!_ She suddenly had to fight down the urge to giggle.

The silky magic eagerly flowed up her arms and into her shoulder joints. Now she could feel magic all around her, darting through the air, and radiating in powerful waves from the spells being cast nearby. It felt alive.

Burren's magic had a... flavor to it. It felt coarse, but precise, like a well-worn knife. It felt silky, but moved in sharp patterns, abruptly shifting this way and that, working efficiently and rapidly.

_My amulet..._ It constantly emitted a much stranger magic; a magic that ran in channels between the base of her skull to itself, and then into innumerable points around her body, branching off in thousands of different places. The magic was thin, geometric, and hard, and had no life to it.

_Fascinating._

Suddenly, a new feeling rushed into the body. It began at the back of her neck, and rushed down her back, curling around the front of her form, tracing lines in her muscles all around her torso.

Burren's magic stopped its probing, and swiftly darted out of her body. He let go of her hands.

"There you are. You've been ignited."

She could feel the streams of magic all around her now. It was an incredible feeling. She felt as though she could push and alter those streams with her hands, like shaping the flow of water.

"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Burren's voice was oddly soft. She looked at him. His mouth was still set in a hard line, but his eyes twinkled slightly.

Tierras spoke quietly. "I... Yes. It is. It's wonderful..."

"I want you to try something. Reach into the stream of magic around you - we call it the Aether - and push the streams that run by me."

Tierras did, finding that the only way to do so was to physically move her arms and _push_ in the Aether. It shifted at her urging, and she watched Burren stagger to one side.

"Telekinesis..." she whispered. "I'm... Telekinetic."

Burren had regained some of his original gruffness. "Well, all mages are. You do seem to have some natural aptitude for it, however, so perhaps we will begin your training there. Would that be acceptable?"

The wonder in Tierras' chest was fading, being replaced by excited determination.

"Yes. I'm ready. Show me."

**Author's notes:**

**I'd like to post the songs that I listen to for inspiration for each chapter from now on! Here's the first:**

**(weir)Lights - Ellie Goulding (Bassnectar Remix) **** watch?v=nGlIDl…**

**Tierras finally learns how to use magic! Yaaaaaayyy. Let the climb to power begin.**

**Also, LEAVE A REVIEW, DANGIT! THOSE ARE MY MOTIVATIONS TO KEEP WRITING!**

**Next Riven chapter is in progress. Update in the nearish future.**

**Adios,**

**PWNsbey.**


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